Moving On
by Team Renly
Summary: Four years after Zehaal's defeat, Alph and Lucia's wedding approaches, Mavi begins to feel jealous. LuciaxAlph and some surprises. She finally thinks she can move on when her heart is broken. Who can heal her wounds, new and old?
1. Introduction

**Don't read this and think it's going to be a boring, generic story; the introduction is just a lead in, not a reference to other pairings or story features.**

The wind whispered through the trees like a silent spirit trailing its hands through the leaves of the towering pines and oaks of Lethe Forest. The birds' songs drifted from every corner as Mavi rested in the fork of an enormous oak tree. It might have been just Mavi's own emotions but it seemed to her as if the forest was growing happier as Alph and Lucia's wedding approached. The group of them had all changed since their battle against Zehaal four years previously.

Alph and Lucia were twenty and Alph's hair had begun to turn as white as Lucia's to the point that it was a close call between his armour and his hair in the glistening sunlight. They had passed through an hour ago, taking a walk in the forest, so deeply in each other's company that they didn't even notice Mavi's spot high in the tree. They had grown up so much from the days of their arguments. They seemed… happy all the time and despite Mavi's outward attitude that she was fine alone, she was beginning to wish that she could be like them as well.

Leon and Cecille had finally begun dating after an odd turn of events. In the face of Lady Claire's lack of self-faith, Nikolai had actually begun to be a positive influence, as much as she hated to say it about the swine. The constant fawning had led Claire to be more outgoing and the two of them had worked things out between them to the point that they became a couple.

For everyone else, however, things were a little bit simpler. Heath and Saki had continued to sort out the armies and the disastrous wake of the Zehaal business. Kai had worked with Pollon to create a squad from the previous armies to build a basis for the future of man, manatee, dragon and witch-kind alike. It seemed that Pollon had finally got to be a hero after he was publicly knighted by Heath, the temporary ruler of humankind, and began his new job.

Theo had changed.

A lot.

He'd outgrown the poncho and shorts years ago and he'd grown up. He now sported an armoured vest and shorts with the poncho design now on the outside of his legs as an extra layer. His hair was shorter, while still gold and fluffy and he now sported a single earring that made him look like a pirate wannabe. He'd also outgrown the hero-worship thing with his brother and had begun to be himself a little more, moving away from Alph to study with Master Papa about his Rym powers.

Vivi and Mel hadn't really changed. Mel had started to teach little human kids magic and had made some friends her own age and she seemed happy. Vivi still lives in her tree but rumour had it that she had a boyfriend who liked tag and didn't mind spending a lot of his time waiting for her to wake up and it was a topic of permanent conversation as to who it could be.

Vanessa had continued chasing after Theo but he had stoically refused her time and time again as he tirelessly pointed out that if she was trying to steal Alph from Lucia then being her Rym wasn't certain and that he really wasn't interested.

As I was entranced in my own thoughts, Theo had entered the clearing near my tree. He drew his bow and tied a wooden slate to a tree, ensuring that he didn't damage it. Mavi smiled at the fact that, although Theo looked and acted different, at heart he was still a compassionate kid who took his training seriously.

Mavi watched in silence for a while until a wandering band of minnopi, who had repopulated after a campaign by Mavi in the wake of Zehaal's doom, stumbled into the clearing. Mavi was almost out of the tree, fearing Theo might kill them as practice, when he walked up and patted it on the head and the minnopi smiled. She wondered at Theo's ability to associate with it but she felt guilty for distrusting him and made her way quickly back to the village before he noticed her watching him.

Claire was training a series of humans in the ways of magic as a means to help create harmony and a stronger nation, unable to be crippled by a disaster such as that wrought by the church. As Mavi passed, one of them broke off from their training regime and jogged over. "Hey, Mav, how's it going?" Dylan, a former brawler who was now practicing nature magic, asked.

"Not so bad. Are you looking forward to the wedding?" Mavi asked as they walked towards her hut.

"Sure am, every one'll be there. Plus, I'm happy for Alph and Lucia, they're totally perfect for each other," Dylan replied honestly.

Mavi chuckled as she replied, "Yeah, they sure are. Where are you going?"

"Nowhere special. Wanna do something?" he asked.

"Sure… I could annihilate you fighting, or were you planning on something that doesn't involve being beaten by a girl?"

"We could finish planting those trees," he suggested, referring to a pet project of Mavi's, planting trees in the barren wastelands created by Zehaal. She smiled, not only at the thought of finishing her project, but at spending time alone with Dylan. He might be arrogant on occasion and cocky as anything but Mavi was still happy in his company.

They exited the forest suddenly, reaching a barren space filled with gleaming sunshine. Mavi could plant the trees by hand but Dylan suggested they practice using magic and Mavi gladly accepted.

After two hours, they lay back in the grassy hillocks to admire their handiwork and bask in the afternoon sun. They talked for hours more until finally, Dylan made a bold move and tried putting his arm around Mavi.

Instantly, she jumped and there was a sharp _crack_ as she slapped him across the face.

**PLEASE REVIEW!  
I may edit this later, it's currently just a starting point, any suggestions feel free to send a comment.**


	2. Broken

**Think the ending's too obvious? Read the rest because trust me, it isn't.**

Alph's head flickered towards the door as he heard a faint knock. He smiled as the door opened to reveal Mavi before frowning as he realised why. As the various witches and her other friends had separated, she had begun visiting Alph whenever there was a problem that she couldn't, or was unwilling to, sort out.

"Hey, Mavi," Alph said, avoiding seeming too happy as soon as he noticed the deadly look on her face, "what's the problem?"

She looked nervous for a moment before quickly dropping to the floor and answering. "It's Dylan…"

Alph smiled inwardly, Dylan and Mavi had been seemingly dating for months so he wondered why she seemed so angry and almost scared. "Mavi, I want to help you, but I'm getting married in four days and you need to find someone else to help you."

Mavi looked pained as she replied, "But Alph… you're the only one I can really talk to any more…"

"Mavi," Alph said, leaning in to make sure she understood, "You need to move on, Theo has, Heath has, Mel has, even VIVI has. You need to live your own life, not clinging onto the past of defeating Zehaal. I'll help you once but this is it," Alph finished as firmly as he could.

"Dylan tried… putting his arm around me…" Mavi began as Alph cocked his head in curiosity, "and I slapped him. I don't know why. I sort of like him but I couldn't bear him touching me. Now that I'm back here, alone, I feel dumb and outrageous but I still did it. I don't know what I should do!" Mavi yelled, holding her head in her hands as her words gushed out angrily.

"Maybe he just isn't right for you?" Alph suggested as kindly as possible.

"You're the one telling me to get on with my life! If not him, what other guy do I get along with?" Mavi snarled, "I was going to ask for help making up with him!"

"Hey! Don't blow up at me, if you didn't realise, I'm trying to help YOU!" Alph yelled back, angry at being verbally attacked.

"Well you can piss the _hell_ _OFF_!" Mavi yelled, her anger at Dylan fusing with that at Alph as she slammed the door in sheer frustration and she ran out into the clear night air of the Witch Village.

Despite her anger, as she walked further away from Alpha and Lucia's little hut, she began to feel more and more listless. She wondered if she could ever talk to Alph again; he was leaving in a day and marrying in three and right now, things had gone bad between them and it was only made worse by the fact it was her own fault. She'd slapped Dylan, she'd angered Alph…

In a desperate attempt to escape from her own confused feelings of anger and guilt, she ran as deep into the forest as she could, away from where she and Dylan had been that morning.

When she was beginning to feel totally mentally and physically exhausted, she slumped against a tree and when her heart stopped pounding in her ears, she thought the wind was bringing her the sounds of a battle.

Curious, Mavi slipped silently away from the tree and stalked quietly towards the hillock blocking off the source of the noise, all exhaustion forgotten. As she rose to the top of the hillock, she saw Dylan standing in a clearing, clearly practising his magic. Rose petals fell around him and the grass, previously dry and withered, grew thick and green around his feet in an ever widening circle.

She paused, not sure whether or not she wanted to talk to Dylan at all, as she saw a shape stalking towards him in the half light.

Before she could move, already frozen as she contemplated talking things over with Dylan, the beast's claws already protruding from his chest. Its jaws were already deep in Dylan's shoulder as Mavi called to the beast to stop and Dylan's agonised cry echoed into the trees.

She skidded to his side, but his anguished cry had been cut off and she knew in her heart and her mind that he was already dead.

His eyes were glazed slightly as he stared blankly into the distance, his blood soaking into the white rose petals. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she realised that she had no power to heal him. She'd always thought that strength could do anything and yet she was too weak to save the man she realised she loved. Mavi sobbed as she held onto Dylan's icy cold hand. As she stroked his pale face, she could feel the broken jaw that was all she had ever given him. He didn't even die an honourable death, he was at his most peaceful and Mavi hadn't even been able to save him from fifty metres away.

Lost in her own pain, she jumped violently as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Leon, drawn by Dylan's scream as he walked with Cecille, tried to pull her away from the lifeless corpse.

Cecille, the healer and protector, raised a hand over his body but Mavi could see her almost imperceptible head shake to Leon. Even as she thought this, Dylan's body began to glow with an inner light as his body broke apart like tiny fireflies, glistening in the moonlight as they flew up and into the sky.

Mavi howled in despair as the tiny flecks disappeared into the air and before she could think another thing, everything went black.

**See? Not so simple. I hope you like it :) R&R!**


	3. Waking Up

**Thanks for the reviews, sorry it's taken a while to update, I needed a way to lighten this up a bit so it's been sitting in my computer for a while.**

Mavi rolled over in her bed as she woke up. She leapt suddenly into a sitting position as she realised she'd rolled on an arm. In the dim light of her room she could see a figure and as she remembered the tree-planting she wondered if it was Dylan. As soon as she thought the name, she felts a sudden mental shock and tried to remember what it was she'd forgotten. She had remembered the slapping incident with Dylan and was beginning to wonder when she realised it was Theo.

He mumbled in his sleep as she yelled, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED?"

Theo woke with a start and quickly jumped out of the bed as he replied, "I was sleeping against the wall but it was freezing and you hog the one side so I borrowed the other half of the bed."

"WHY WERE YOU SLEEPING AGAINST MY WALL?" Mavi yelled in reply, still desperately trying to remember what she'd forgotten about the night before.

"Alph thought you might need company when you woke up so I was trying to help you!" Theo replied anxiously.

"Alph…" Mavi replied distantly, remembering the awful way she'd treated him yesterday, "where is he?"

"He wanted to stay but he had to go to prepare for the wedding in Madrasta. He also was worried that you might need someone else to talk to for a while…" Theo explained.

"Why didn't they send Dyl-," Mavi stopped before she finished his name.

She crumpled to the ground as she remembered the night before. Several cruel images played through her mind: Dylan, dancing in a shower of roses, the beast's expression as its jaws ripped out of Dylan's shoulder and, finally, the white rose petal, stained red with blood.

She began to shake as Theo dashed forward to put his arm around her shoulders. "Calm down, take it easy, one breath at a time," he whispered softly as he began counting, "one…two…three," and he couldn't help but compare the broken figure in his arms to the stoic warrior he had known when they fought Zehaal only four years ago. "Nine… ten… eleven," it was as he continued counting that he realised, after the magical sleep inside Mother Lapis, she was only a year and a half older than he was. She acted old and he used to act young but really, there was little difference between the two of them and right now she was showing that fact in one big bundle.

He reached five hundred and thirty-two, lost in his own thoughts, when he realised Mavi had finally stopped the panting and sobbing and had begun sucking her thumb like a small child.

"You okay?" he asked gently.

Mavi nodded but she still seemed to be lost in her own mind. A single knock on the door caused her to jolt suddenly and grip the banister on the bed until her knuckles turned white.

Theo let go gently to stand up as carefully as he could to walk across to the door.

He opened it a fraction and recognised the Lady Claire standing in the now brightly lit doorway. "How's she taking it?" she asked quietly.

"You didn't bring Nikolai did you?" he hissed quietly, ignoring her question.

Claire shook her head and Theo opened her door to reveal the shivering Mavi. Claire made a simpering noise before quickly rushing to Mavi's side. She tried to hug Mavi and comfort her but was quickly pushed away in place of the foetal position.

Claire looked worried for a moment as Mavi began howling once more and Theo knelt down again and gestured for Claire to leave quietly.

Claire walked out nervously, instantly seeking out Nikolai for emotional support.

"Yes, my lovely lady Claire?" Nikolai asked, in his opinion suavely, as she found him a few metres away, along the path.

He was waiting for an answer when suddenly she burst into tears and fell onto his shoulder. Nikolai was used to having Claire coming to him when she was worried, but this was a first. On another day, he would have loved the opportunity to assist the two sobbing witches; but Claire and Mavi's howling had totally overwhelmed him.

"What is wrong, my lady?" Nikolai repeated.

"She… she pushed me away… did I do something wrong?" she asked quickly, looking directly into Nikolai's eyes.

"Perhaps she merely needs time, you could not have done anything more than what you did," Nikolai crooned, hugging the nervous Claire closely.

Gradually, Claire relaxed as she asked, "Are you sure…?"

"Certain, milady, you made the right choice, it simply didn't quite turn out," he replied instantly, "How about we get a drink to settle you down, yes?"

As the two walked off in each other's arms, Leon and Cecille slipped out from behind the trees guiltily, Leon gagging at Nikolai's over-zealous syrupy tone.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Cecille asked, looking nervously at the ground.

"Of course, she's a strong person, you know she'll pull through," Leon replied confidently.

"Yeah…" Cecille drifted off, still worried as she looked at the sky blankly, lost in thought.

**That's it for now. Next Instalment: THE WEDDING.**

**Hope you've enjoyed it.**


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